he Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. became the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on
July 1, 1999. Dr. Jackson is a theoretical physicist. Since coming to Rensselaer, Dr. Jackson has led the development of the Rensselaer Plan (the Institutes strategic blueprint), has begun implementation of
much of the Plan, while restructuring processes and procedures; and secured a $360 million unrestricted gift commitment to the university.

Dr. Jacksons career prior to becoming Rensselaers president has encompassed senior positions in government, as Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; in industry and research, as a theoretical physicist at the former AT&T
Bell Laboratories; and in academe, as a professor of theoretical physics at Rutgers University.

Dr. Jackson holds a Ph.D. in theoretical elementary particle physics from M.I.T. (1973) and a S.B. in physics from M.I.T. (1968).

Dr. Jacksons research specialty is in theoretical condensed matter physics, especially layered systems, and the physics of opto-electronic materials.

In 1995 President William Clinton appointed Dr. Jackson to serve as Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Dr. Jackson was Chairman of the NRC from 1995-1999. As Chairman, she was the principal executive officer of and the official
spokesman for the NRC. She had ultimate authority for all NRC functions pertaining to an emergency involving an NRC licensee. The NRC is charged with the protection of the public health and safety, the environment,
and the common defense and security by licensing, regulating, and safeguarding the use of reactor byproduct material in the U.S. This includes power reactors; research, test, and training reactors; fuel cycle facilities;
reactor byproduct use in medicine, industry and research; the transportation, storage, and disposal of high-level and low-level radioactive waste; and the licensing of nuclear exports for peaceful uses.

While at the NRC, Dr. Jackson initiated a strategic assessment and rebaselining of the agency, leading to a new planning, budgeting, and performance management system that put the NRC on a more businesslike footing in its activities. She also introduced
risk-informed, performance-based regulation to the NRC (utilizing probabilistic risk assessment on a consistent basis), which is now being infused throughout its regulatory programs. Elements of the approach also
have been incorporated into the regulatory programs of other nations. She led the development of a new reactor oversight program, and created, with the Commission, a license renewal process resulting in the first
renewal (in March 2000) of the license of an operating reactor in the United States.

While Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Dr. Jackson spearheaded the formation of the International Nuclear Regulators Association (INRA) in May 1997, and was elected as the groups first chairman, a position she held from 1997 to
1999. The association is made up of the most senior nuclear regulatory officials from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As the first INRA chairman, Dr. Jackson
guided its development as a high-level forum to examine issues, and to offer assistance to other nations, on matters of nuclear safety.

While at the NRC, Dr. Jackson represented the United States (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) as a delegate to the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria.

From 1991 to 1995, Dr. Jackson was professor of physics at Rutgers University, where she taught undergraduate and graduate students, conducted research on the electronic and optical properties of two-dimensional systems, and supervised Ph.D. candidates.
She concurrently served as a consultant in semiconductor theory to AT&T Bell Laboratories.

From 1976 to 1991, Dr. Jackson conducted research in theoretical physics, solid state and quantum physics, and optical physics at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. Her primary research foci were the optical and electronic properties
of layered materials including transition metal dichalcogenides, electrons on the surface of liquid helium films, and strained-layer semiconductor superlattices. She is best known for her work on polaronic aspects
of electrons in two-dimensional systems.

Dr. Jackson will become president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in February 2004. The AAAS is the worlds largest general scientific society. Dr. Jackson will serve as president-elect in 2003, as president in 2004,
and will chair the AAAS board in 2005.

Dr. Jackson is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2001). She also is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1991), and the American Physical Society (1986). She is a member of a number of other professional organizations.
Dr. Jackson holds 21 honorary doctoral degrees.

In January 2001, Dr. Jackson received the Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers. In 1993 she was awarded the New Jersey Governors Award in Science (the Thomas Alva Edison Award).

Dr. Jackson serves as a director of a number of major corporations, including FedEx Corporation, AT&T Corporation, Marathon Oil Corporation, Medtronic, Inc., and KeyCorp.

She serves as a Trustee of the Brookings Institution, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Council on Competitiveness, and on the Council of the Government-University-Industry Research
Roundtable.

Dr. Jackson is a Life Member of the M.I.T. Corporation (the M.I.T. Board of Trustees). She also is a Trustee of Georgetown University, Rockefeller University, the Emma Willard School (Troy, N.Y.), and The Pingry School (Martinsville, New Jersey).

Dr. Jackson is a member of the National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She serves on the Advisory Committee for the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),
and is a member of the U.S. Comptroller-Generals Advisory Committee for the Government Accounting Office (GAO).

Prior to her government service, Dr. Jackson served on the Advisory Council of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), and served on several corporate boards of directors. Dr. Jackson also has been a member of a number of high-level commissions
in the State of New Jersey, including the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. In 1994 Dr. Jackson was a member of the U.S. Department of Energy Task Force on the future of its multipurpose National
Laboratories (the Galvin Commission). She also has served on a number of committees of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Jackson is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from M.I.T.  in any subject. She is one of the first two African-American women to receive a doctorate in physics in the U.S. She is the first African-American to become a Commissioner
of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She is both the first woman and the first African-American to serve as the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and now the first African-American woman
to lead a national research university. She is also the first African-American woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

In 2002, Dr. Jackson was named one of the Top 50 Women in Science by Discover magazine, and recognized in a published book by ESSENCE titled 50 of The Most Inspiring African-Americans. She also was named one of 50 R&D Stars to Watch by
Industry Week Magazine.

She was inducted into the Women in Technology International Foundation Hall of Fame (WITI) in June 2000. WITI recognizes women technologists and scientists whose achievements are exceptional. Dr. Jackson was inducted into the National Womens Hall
of Fame in 1998 for her significant and profound contributions as a distinguished scientist and advocate for education, science, and public policy.

Dr. Jackson was the recipient in February 2001 of the Immortal Award for the 15th Annual Black History Makers Award sponsored by Associated Black Charities. Also, in February 2001, Dr. Jackson became the first woman to win the Black Engineer
of the Year Award by US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine. In March 2000, Dr. Jackson was awarded the Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Academia from the National Society of Black
Engineers.

The eLeadership Award was presented in May 2000 to Dr. Jackson from the Central New York Technical Development Organization and the CASE Center at Syracuse University, recognizing leaders in technological innovation, application, or education who envision
a future in which the promise of technology reaches all segments of society. In June 2000, Dr. Jackson received the 100 Women of Excellence award from the Albany-Colonie (NY) Regional Chamber of Commerce
& Womens Business Council recognizing women who pioneered change in the community over the past century.

Dr. Jackson is married to Dr. Morris A. Washington, also a physicist. They have one son, Alan, a graduate of Dartmouth College.